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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Telugu of United Arab Emirates

The Telugu of United Arab Emirates, numbering approximately 519,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indo-Iranian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the India states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Puducherry. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Telugu is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Telugu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: United Arab Emirates
People Cluster: Telugu
Primary Language(s): Telugu (tel)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 519,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG012259
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Pray for the Telugu of United Arab Emirates

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

—
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Telugu
Language Family: Dravidian

100%
%
Telugu Speakers

Media Resources in Telugu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Telugu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Contemporary Version✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Christmas Film✓
Contemporary Version - LUMO Easter Film✓
Easy to Read Version✓✓
Grace Ministries✓✓

5 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Telugu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Telugu are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Telugu:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Telugu of United Arab Emirates

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
readJohn 14:6

Pray that those who don't know Jesus will recognize Him as the only way to the Father and follow Him in faith.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
readRomans 1:19-20

Pray that God will use His creation – the “things that have been made” – to spark a fresh and passionate curiosity among them to draw near to the Maker and that, as they seek Him, He will make a way for them to hear the gospel and receive it with joy.

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
readGenesis 50:20

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will forgive those who do them harm and trust God as they walk in His ways.

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
readRomans 10:15

Pray that God will call many believers who will obediently go and share the gospel with those who desperately need it.

Telugu Across Countries (ROP3 - 109930) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

10 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulation ▼Strategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TeluguPG012259TeluguUnited Arab Emirates519,000Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguSunni Islam
TeluguPG047224TeluguUnited States428,000Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguHinduism
TeluguPG009533TeluguMyanmar271,000Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguFolk Hinduism
TeluguPG009356TeluguMalaysia138,000No Longer UnreachedTeluguHinduism
TeluguPG011307TeluguBahrain34,500Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguSunni Islam
TeluguPG043486TeluguCanada17,500Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguHinduism
TeluguPG006443TeluguSri Lanka13,000No Longer UnreachedTeluguHinduism
TeluguPG001213TeluguBangladesh12,000Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguHinduism
TeluguPG010724TeluguSingapore850No Longer UnreachedTeluguHinduism
TeluguPG011808TeluguKuwait850Engaged yet UnreachedTeluguSunni Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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